By Sherry Robinson
All She Wrote
 

  If you love historic hotels, and I do, it was a punch in the gut to read that the St. James Hotel in Cimarron has closed. The storied St. James not only has a big place in New Mexico history – punctuated by 26 bullet holes in the barroom ceiling – it’s a major employer in the tiny northern town.

  After the announcement, the hotel’s Facebook page carried an outpouring of comments from grieving customers, Boy Scouts, former employees and locals who all hope the right person will step up to carry on the St. James legacy. And the search for a buyer is backed by the state Economic Development Department, which is circulating an appraisal and helping drum up interest.

How do you put a price on history?

  Henry Lambert, who had been a chef to Abraham Lincoln, started the St. James in 1872, and it soon became a favorite stopping place on the Santa Fe Trail. Visitors included famed lawman Wyatt Earp, wild west showman Buffalo Bill Cody, gunman Clay Allison, outlaw Jesse James and train robber Black Jack Ketchum. Former governor and author Lew Wallace wrote part of his novel “Ben Hur” here, and western writer Zane Grey composed stories sitting outside against an oak tree.

Lambert’s raucous saloon was the scene of more than two dozen killings. Some of the dead stayed around to provide the occasional ghost sighting. (That feature later became a tourist draw, although my stays at the St. James were quiet and uneventful.)

Eventually the railroad put the Santa Fe Trail out of business and, with it, the St. James. The hotel changed hands many times until 2009, when Oklahoman Bob Funk bought it and renovated it beautifully. He also bought the nearby Express UU Bar Ranch but sold it in 2018 to Zane Kiehne, one of the nation’s largest landowners, and leased it for cattle operations.

Now Funk wants to retire. He put the hotel on the market and stopped leasing the ranch. Kiehne’s plans for the ranch are unknown.

Teri Caid, the hotel’s general manager and the ranch’s operations manager, told The New Mexican that core staff members have been with the hotel for eight to 20 years, but like many operations it’s hard to keep kitchen and housekeeping staff. The St. James employed 58 people, and the ranch employs 18, including Teri’s husband John, who is ranch manager.

It’s a big hit for a town of 800 people. The Philmont Scout Ranch is the largest employer, and the hotel is the second largest.

Enter the state Economic Development Department. On Sept. 18 Tim Hagaman, regional representative to the northeast front range community on the Business and Rural Development Team, circulated a letter.

“I’m reaching out to as many friends as possible that can identify a new owner to purchase the property,” he wrote. “They are not giving the property away but serious buyers can convey what they think it is worth.”

The appraised value is $4 million, according to the firm representing Bob Funk. Yearly revenue was $1.5 million at 40% occupancy. The seller won’t accept a real estate contract. However, the Economic Development Department “can assist with up to $250,000 in collateral support.”

This is the New Mexico Collateral Assistance Program. “To support business growth in New Mexico and to create and retain jobs, EDD encourages banks and other financial institutions to make loans to small businesses in underserved markets. EDD can pledge cash to cover a collateral shortfall of a loan to enable financing that otherwise might not be available to a small business,” according to the website.

Hagaman writes hopefully that Tim Smith, Funk’s representative, “has been contacted by interested folks all over the country with ties to Philmont. If you have a serious buyer they can reach him at tsmith@okcproperties.com.”

 Sherry Robinson is a longtime New Mexico reporter and editor. She has worked in Grants, Gallup, the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico Business Weekly and Albuquerque Tribune. She is the author of four books. Her columns won first place in 2024 from New Mexico Press Women.